Previous reporting from this news outlet found that public school funding could be reduced during the upcoming biennium by $103.4 million. Vouchers used for private schools would see a $265.4 million increase over the biennium, while charter schools would get a $221.8 million increase in the same period.
“The analysis by bucket, by nature, focuses on administrative entities over where students and their parents choose to obtain an education,” said Dan Tierney, press secretary for DeWine.
He added, “The changes reflect student population movement among the different types of schools.”
Lacey Snoke, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, said these are just projections.
“The state does not determine what Ed Choice growth will be — parents determine that by choosing to apply for scholarships to enroll students in participating chartered nonpublic schools,” Snoke said.
She said the projections are used to make estimates for the budget.
In 2023, the Ohio legislature expanded EdChoice vouchers to allow anyone to apply for one, regardless of income. However, the state made this change during the summer after many families had already made their decisions for the next school year, so an increase in vouchers didn’t show up until the following school year.
Ohio has five voucher programs. Two of them — the Jon Petersen and Autism scholarships — are meant for students with special needs, and the Cleveland voucher program is similar to statewide EdChoice but is only for Cleveland students.
The EdChoice program originally gave money so that students in public schools that were deemed as “failing” could pay to attend private schools (which aren’t graded on the state’s report card).
The EdChoice Expansion program at first gave the same private school funding option to students from low-income families, regardless of how their home public school was graded. Then it was expanded in 2023 so all families in Ohio qualify for at least 10% of the voucher.
Budget predictions
The governor’s budget suggests an increase in state funding of vouchers of 8.2% for school year 2025-2026, resulting in a total of $1.16 billion, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
ODEW predicts $475 million to be spent on EdChoice Expansion vouchers alone this school year. Roughly 64,000 students are included through the other four voucher programs.
ODEW data shows that 99,866 students have been accepted into EdChoice Expansion this school year. Projections show 100,011 students would eventually be enrolled in the program this school year.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, which oversees vouchers, in 2023, 23,272 students were enrolled in the state’s EdChoice Expansion voucher program. In 2024, 88,095 students were enrolled – a 283.3% increase. Many of the new participating students were children who had already been attending private schools, but instead of their parents paying the bill, the state voucher now paid all or a majority of the cost.
In the 2026-2027 school year, the state estimates an additional 7.5% of students would be added to the EdChoice Expansion program. By 2026-2027, the state expects to spend $1.2 billion total on private school vouchers.
Where could the growth be?
School Choice Ohio, which advocates for private and charter school options, said the projected increase in scholarship numbers likely relates to more parents realizing their students are eligible.
“As a result, more families are at least investigating school options for their students,” said Beth Lawson, spokeswoman for School Choice Ohio.
She said there are still families whose kids are eligible for a scholarship but the families don’t want to use a voucher.
“We do not anticipate an increase in scholarship participation within that demographic,” Lawson said. “For the most part the families whose students are eligible and wish to participate are already doing so through their school of choice.”
Lawson said a survey that School Choice Ohio sent out this year had 106 private schools reply and say they had open seats.
“It is true that there are some private schools in the state that have no or limited open seats, but that appears to be limited to specific areas rather than a widespread issue across the state,” she said.
Aaron Churchill, Ohio policy research director for the Fordham Institute, which also advocates for school choice, said the numbers are in line with what he expects to see this school year.
Local schools weigh in
Some local private schools have said they have space to accept more students, while others say they do not.
Michael Franz, director of communications for Carroll High School, said the Riverside high school had some open spots for this school year and anticipate having some open spots for next school year.
Tina Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School, said the enrollment capacity for the high school was about 720 students and could serve another 20 students. CJ did not provide specific numbers as to how full they were.
“CJ’s enrollment has grown since 2020 and has experienced a sustained enrollment of just over 700 students for each of the last three years,” Wagoner said. “The school projects a slight increase to its numbers for the 2025-2026 school year.”
Julie Thompson, spokeswoman for Dayton Christian School in Miamisburg, one of the largest private schools in the region, said there is space for students in some grades, but not others.
“At this point in our admissions cycle, we have space in the following grades: K, 3, 4, 5, 7 - 12. Space in some of these grades is very limited (especially in the lower elementary),” she said in an email. “Students who apply in Grades 1, 2 and 6 are placed in a wait pool and are notified if we are able to open up a new section in that grade or a current student withdraws.”
Jennifer Schack, a spokeswoman for the Cincinnati Archdiocese, said the archdiocese does not have data on open seats for the current school year.
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